What Is A Panic Attack?

For no apparent reason a sudden episode of intense fear or apprehension grips you and
triggers very real physical reactions.
Panic attacks can be very scary and confusing.
An attack may make you might think you're losing control, having a heart attack or even dying.
This is a panic attack.


If you have had or are having the following symptoms...

Panic Attack Disorder

What is "panic disorder"?
Panic disorder is a recurrent and persistent occurrence of panic attacks that's accompanied by the worry or fear that you're going to have another panic attack in the future. Panic disorder creates a lot of anxiety and can set up a whole host of avoidance behavior patterns as you struggle to figure out ways to prevent panic attacks from happening.


What is a "panic attack"?
A panic attack develops unexpectedly and peaks over the course of approximately ten minutes. The symptoms of panic attacks can be broken into physical symptoms and cognitive symptoms. The physical symptoms can include cardiac symptoms such as palpitations, increased heart rate; you can have shortness of breath and symptoms of choking. There can be abdominal discomfort or nausea and some people experience flushing or dizziness. The cognitive symptoms include the fear of losing control, that you're going out of your mind. If you're having a lot of those cardiac symptoms you might actually fear that you're dying, that you're having a heart attack. Sometimes this results in going to the emergency room and in some cases people experience periods of derealization, where they feel disconnected from their surroundings.

The fear of a Panic Attack

CBT pioneer Barry McDonagh, creator of Panic Away,  talks about how to end panic attacks and general anxiety.

Anxiety and Panic Attack Cycle

How to stop the panic cycle

The same nervous thoughts play over and over again in your head.
Like a scratched record it keeps repeating.
In this case though, it's not some nice piece of music that repeats, it's an unpleasant, anxious thought, you'd rather not dwell on.

Ad nauseum this panic and anxiety cycle goes round and round.

It can be a myriad of things in daily life that can fire off the anxious thought that starts this cycle.
Now you noticed your discomfort and this only adds to the power of the cycle.
It feeds upon itself..
The panic cycle can go on for minutes, hours, even days.

Water Helps Ease General Anxiety!

Today I want to look at something so simple and yet equally powerful in alleviating the symptoms of general anxiety. This tip also helps reduce the frequency and strength of panic attacks.

Fresh Drinking Water

Panic Attacks While Flying

Take a very common fear and an untreated panic disorder,
and you get a very uncomfortable flight.
To this man, everything has gone horribly wrong, he feels his life is in real danger.
Objectively however, he is perfectly healthy in biological terms.
Flight attendants are trained to respond to this and see it often.



To make sure you leave with a smile, yet another in-flight panic attack with an unconventional treatment...which is not recommended.




Fear of driving?
Drive again!

Getting to Sleep and Panic Attacks at Night

As most doctors will tell you, there are two things that disturb sleep: physical pain and worry.

It’s therefore understandable that many people with anxiety report frequent sleep disturbance as a major problem.

Not being able to sleep can actually be quite traumatic for many people.

The first thing you need to understand about sleep is this: it’s not the amount of sleep you get that’s important, but rather the quality of the sleep.

Quality over quantity.



I am going to give you some quick tips to help tackle any problems you are having with sleep. Firstly, to break the insomnia cycle, begin by not presuming you will sleep! That seems like the wrong attitude, but if you approach each night as just a possible opportunity to sleep, this helps remove the pressure you are placing yourself under.

Therapy for Anxiety Disorders

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Exposure Therapy, and Other Options

If you suffer from out-of-the-blue panic attacks, obsessive thoughts, an inability to relax and let go of worries, heartpounding self-consciousness, or an incapacitating phobia, you may have an anxiety disorder. But you don’t have to learn to live with anxiety and fear. Treatment can help, and for many anxiety problems, therapy is a good place to start. Certain types of therapy–such as cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure therapy–are particularly beneficial. These therapies can teach you how to control your anxiety levels, stop worrisome thoughts, and conquer your fears.

Anxiety and Panic Disorder

“For me, a panic attack is almost a violent experience. I feel disconnected from reality. I feel like I’m losing control in a very extreme way. My heart pounds really hard, I feel like I can’t get my breath, and there’s an overwhelming feeling that things are crashing in on me.”
“It started 10 years ago, when I had just graduated from college and started a new job. I was sitting in a business seminar in a hotel and this thing came out of the blue. I felt like I was dying.”
“In between attacks there is this dread and anxiety that it’s going to happen again. I’m afraid to go back to places where I’ve had an attack. Unless I get help, there soon won’t be anyplace where I can go and feel safe from panic.”

Panic disorder is a real illness that can be successfully treated. It is characterized by sudden attacks of terror, usually accompanied by a pounding heart, sweatiness, weakness, faintness, or dizziness. During these attacks, people with panic disorder may flush or feel chilled; their hands may tingle or feel numb; and they may experience nausea, chest pain, or smothering sensations. Panic attacks usually produce a sense of unreality, a fear of impending doom, or a fear of losing control.

Stuck On Meds: Some Can't Quit Antidepressants

Syndrome makes it impossible for some patients to wean off medication


updated 8/31/2006 12:07:51 PM ET

When Gina O’Brien decided she no longer needed drugs to quell her anxiety and panic attacks, she followed doctor’s orders by slowly tapering her dose of the antidepressant Paxil.

The gradual withdrawal was supposed to prevent unpleasant symptoms that can result from stopping antidepressants cold turkey. But it didn't work.
“I felt so sick that I couldn't get off my couch,” O’Brien said. “I couldn't stop crying.”
Overwhelmed by nausea and uncontrollable crying, she felt she had no choice but to start taking the pills again. More than a year later she still takes Paxil, and expects to be on it for the rest of her life.